1962 Ford Mustang I - Jay Leno and Lee Iacocca Talk Ponycar History

The newest episode of the YouTube classic car sensation, “Jay Leno’s Garage,” celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Ford Mustang in a huge way. Leno brings former Ford President, Lee Iacocca, along with Bob Fria, author of “Mustang Genesis,” and Dave Pericak, Mustang Chief Engineer, to discuss the infamous ponycar. Fria takes Leno for a tour of the first 1964 Ford Mustang, serial number “00001;” two men from the Henry Ford Museum walk Leno around the 1962 Mustang I prototype; and Pericak shows Leno a hand-built 2015 Ford Mustang (not yet in production). Be sure to check-out the video, it’s a Mustang lover’s dream come true!

2/27

The episode starts with Leno interviewing Iacocca, the former Ford and Chrysler CEO known for engineering the Ford Mustang, and Bob Fria, author of a book all about the history of the Mustang. They discuss the original thoughts surrounding the conception of the ponycar, where the first drawing of the Mustang came from, and some of the options available to consumers on the 1964 model. Fria also went into an explanation of where the original pony design featured on the grille of every Mustang originated.

6/27

Later, Leno meets with Matt Anderson, curator of transportation at the Henry Ford Museum, and Steve Ling, performance car marketing manager of Ford, to discuss the 1962 Ford Mustang I concept car. The mid-engine, two-seater was built as 1 of 13 different concept cars associated with the "Allegro" project (code word for “Mustang”). The reason behind its 1962 construction was to build a low-cost sports car to compete with GM’s Corvair. The goal was a car suited to be a daily driver that was performance oriented, while also stylish.

With a 91ci (1.5 L) V4 engine and 4-speed transmission, the lightweight (roughly 1,500lbs) 2-seater was good for 109hp. We learned the car wasn’t practical enough to take the place of rivaling the Corvair for daily use, but later spawned the inspiration for the GT40. The only design elements brought from the original Mustang I to the production 1964 model were the side louvers and rear-fascia exhaust cutouts.